'That night, we were treated like animals'

LANSING –Three young black women from Lansing say they were subjected to numerous racial slurs at a Denny's in Delta Township last fall from another patron but, when they complained, the restaurant manager tried to kick them out.

At one point, the women said, the foul-mouthed diner, wearing a Blue Angels motorcycle jacket, suggested the waitress “serve them (racial slur) some T-bones.”

It happened Oct.14. They’re still waiting for Denny's to take corrective action.

It was an astonishing display of overt racism, and the women's account is backed up in large part by security video footage taken by the restaurant at 7330 West Saginaw Highway and by a report from the Eaton County Sheriff’s Office.

One of the three was punched in the face by a female companion of the biker in an incident captured on the restaurant’s security video.

LaMaya McGuire, 22, Jennifer McEwen, 25, and Sasha Collins, 27, all of Lansing, say a Delta Township Denny's ignored racial slurs directed at them by another patron. They are pictured June 27, 2019.(Photo: Judy Putnam)

“That night, we were treated like animals,” said Sasha Collins, 27. “They treated us like we did something wrong.”

Though Denny’s at first said it had just learned of the incident, spokesman Paul Spencer later acknowledged a corporate attorney knew of it shortly after it happened.

Spencer called the local manager’s actions “completely unacceptable” in an email.

“While the manager in question is no longer employed by Denny’s, there is no excuse for the treatment these guests received," he said.

The women, Collins, Jennifer McEwen, 25, and LaMaya McGuire, 22, all of Lansing, said they initially hired an attorney who advised them not to go public with their story.

But the attorney dropped them after they questioned the terms of the retainer, they said.

After that relationship fell apart, the women said, they didn't hear from Denny’s, until media stories began to air two weeks ago.

They’ve asked for body camera footage and reports from the Eaton County Sheriff's Office, they said, but have not received them. They also filed a complaint in February with the Michigan Department of Civil Rights. That complaint is still pending.

They’re now seeking help from the Lansing chapter of the NAACP. Dale Copedge, president of the Lansing chapter, confirmed the organization is investigating the case.

Birthday celebration spoiled

The women said they were ordering breakfast around 4 a.m. Oct. 14, 2018 at the West Saginaw Denny’s in Delta Township after a night out celebrating Collins’ 27th birthday. The three had gone to an Ann Arbor comedy club with Collins’ grandmother earlier in the evening.

“We didn’t drink at all. We just all went out and had a good time,” McEwen said.

Their lighthearted mood was soon spoiled.

A group of four white people, later identified as biker rally attendees, came in and were seated at a table kitty-corner to the three women.

“We were there first, not bothering anyone, waiting on our food,” Collins said.

One man, wearing a Blue Angels motorcycle club jacket, loudly used racial slurs that the women said they at first tried to ignore.

Racial slurs numerous

“Too many times to count,” McGuire said when asked how many. There were only a few other patrons at the restaurant.

Then the man making the slurs told a waitress to “serve them (racial slur) some T-bones,” McEwen said.

After their waitress ignored the comments, Collins went to complain directly to the manager, Patrick Fort.

“I just walked up and asked, ‘Could you move them? And if they continue to say these racial slurs, could you asked them to leave?’ He said ,’No, I cannot ask them to leave. It’s a freedom of speech.’”

Collins said she tried to complain out of the bikers’ earshot but the manager followed her back to her table and loudly talked about the bikers’ right to free speech. The women said his actions put them in direct confrontation with the four bikers.

When they got upset with him, Fort told them to leave. They asked for their food to go. He declined. Then Fort called deputies when they refused to leave.

McEwen said her anger turned from the racial slurs to the manager who wouldn’t help them. She tried to call law enforcement at the same time he did.

Punch thrown

That’s when she got punched by a woman they later identified as Alicia Barber of Jackson, who was also wearing a Blue Angels jacket.

Barber is now facing a misdemeanor assault charge in Eaton County District Court. A call to speak to her through her court-appointed attorney was not returned.

McEwen, who is 5-foot, 1-inch tall, said Barber called her a "(racial slur) bitch" as she hit her.

The two got into a fight, but were pulled apart by their respective companions.

Barber left before deputies arrived that night, but McEwen tracked her down on Facebook and turned her name over to the sheriff's office. She was tagged on Facebook with the name "Chatterbox," the same name a witness at Denny's knew her by.She wasn't arraigned until June 26, eight months after the incident.

Fort's confusing and misdirected response to the problem was confirmed in an interview with Eaton County deputies that night. He used the term “colored” to describe Collins to the officers.

“Patrick stated he cannot control what other people say and if they choose to use the ‘N’ word they are free to do so, but he does not allow swearing in his restaurant,” the report said.

A woman answering the phone at the Delta Township Denny’s said Fort no longer worked there and had left the area. She referred calls to Amicus Management in Grand Rapids, which did not return calls. She said the restaurant was no longer owned by Joe Lopez, the franchise owner at the time of the incident. Lopez couldn’t be reached for comment.

Denny’s corporate headquarters initially responded by saying it had only recently learned of the allegations. When I pointed out that the group had corresponded with Susan Phillips, a Denny's attorney, last fall, I got a different response.

Spencer, the Denny's spokesman, said Denny’s initially turned over the franchise owner’s contact to a lawyer for the three women. The corporation got involved again months later when media coverage began in late June.

“As a family dining establishment, we want to ensure that our guests, as well as our team members, are in an environment that is free from any form of abusive behavior and we expect this to be applied to all who enter our doors,” he said.

'Nobody protected us'

He said Denny’s is waiting to hear from the three women. McGuire said they got a message on Facebook but now want to wait until they have another lawyer in place to respond.

In 1994, Denny’s settled several discrimination lawsuits for $54 million where black patrons had been refused service, made to wait longer or charged more than white patrons. Those complaints included six black Secret Service agents assigned to President Clinton who were not served in Annapolis, Maryland, while their white counterparts were.

McEwen, Collins and McGuire said they want more racial sensitivity training at Denny's, compensation and an apology.

"Nobody protected us. Nobody helped us. Nobody stood up for us. It was an injustice for us to go through that because we’re black,” McGuire said.

Judy Putnam is a columnist with the Lansing State Journal. Contact her at (517) 267-1304 or at jputnam@lsj.com.Follow her on Twitter @judyputnam.